British Grand Prix: Brendon Hartley crash triggers safety checks for Toro Rosso but Pierre Gasly will compete in qualifying

Hartley will not take part in qualifying at Silverstone after being involved in a horror shunt during third practice

Toro Rosso will compete at the British Grand Prix this weekend after carrying out safety checks on their cars following a high-speed accident involving Brendon Hartley.

The New Zealander will not compete in qualifying at Silverstone on Saturday after his Toro Rosso suffered a massive suspension failure during third practice earlier in the day at the end of the Wellington Straight as he reached the braking zone for Brooklands.

With the front-left suspension completely destroyed and the tyre ripping off the car, Hartley was pitched into the tyre barrier at high speed as his car became a high-speed missile out of control – digging into the gravel trap that made it airborne just before making contact.

But thankfully Hartley emerged from the wreck and was able to walk away, though the little time between third practice and qualifying meant that he will not be able to compete and will start from either the back of the grid or the pit lane.

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His teammate, Pierre Gasly, will compete in qualifying after Toro Rosso checked over his car and decided to replace his front suspension, although he did not complete any more than the four laps he got in the bag during final practice before Hartley’s accident as the team stood him down for the session.

Toro Rosso tweeted: “Going to be a tough qualifying coming up with just 4 laps under the belt in final practice for Pierre.

Brendon Hartley plows into the tyre barrier during third practice for the British Grand Prix ( Reuters) (Reuters)

“Unfortunately due to the tight turnaround between sessions, we won’t be able to prepare @brendon_hartley’s car in time for qualifying #F1 #BritishGP.”

The FIA, Formula One's governing body, said Hartley appeared not to show any injuries following his initial examination.

Brendon Hartley waves to the crowd after his big accident during third practice (Reuters)

The final session ahead of qualifying later on Saturday was suspended for 12 minutes to deal with the wreckage, while Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was left open-mouthed as he watched a replay of Hartley's horror shunt.